Cleaning device and robot

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a cleaning device and a robot. A movable box is disposed on the bottom side of the robot, wherein a roller space in the movable box is disposed with a roller, and a cleaning cover is disposed around an opening of the movable box. When the robot is moving and sweeping the ground with the roller, the roller will rotate to make contact with a guide element so that the guide element removes the garbage and dust attached to the roller and at the same time guides the airflow of a suction port of the robot, thereby allowing the garbage and dust to follow the airflow into the robot.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwanese application number 109113278, filed on Apr. 21, 2020, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a robot, and more particularly to a cleaning robot and a cleaning device for cleaning a roller of the robot.

Description of the Prior Art

With the advancement of technology, robots can now assist households in completing most of the cleaning works. At the same time, benefiting from the reduced manufacturing costs, robots have gradually been popularized in general households, in particular, robots with both sweeping and vacuuming functions are the most popular ones on the market. The robot with both sweeping and vacuuming functions has a roller, a side brush, and a dust suction portion. When the robot cleans the ground, the side brush pushes the garbage and dust scattered on the ground in the direction of the dust suction portion, and then the roller brings the garbage and dust to the dust suction portion, which creates the airflow to guide the garbage and dust into the dust suction portion, thereby achieving the effect of cleaning the floor.

However, when the robot is cleaning the floor, the garbage and dust brought to the suction portion by the roller are often attached to the roller, so that the cleaning ability of the roller is reduced, and the garbage and dust cannot be smoothly guided to the suction portion. In view of the above problem, the prior art robot on the market comprises a soft dust wiper at the bottom to try to remove the garbage and dust attached to the roller, but the soft dust wiper will be deformed when it makes contact with the roller and thus cannot effectively remove the garbage and dust on the roller. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problem that the garbage and dust on the roller cannot be removed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an object of the present invention, a cleaning device is provided and installed on the bottom side of a robot, and the bottom side of the robot is further disposed with a suction port for sucking the garbage and dust into the robot. The cleaning device includes a movable box, a roller and a cleaning cover. The movable box is installed on the bottom side of the robot and is disposed around the suction port, and the movable box is further disposed with a roller space therein, and the roller space is pivotally disposed with a roller, and the roller comprises a plurality of cleaning portions disposed on the surface thereof, wherein a part of the roller and the plurality of cleaning portions are in the roller space, and the other part protrudes out of the roller space. The cleaning cover is disposed around the opening of the roller space of the movable box, and a guide element made of rigid material is disposed between the roller and the suction port. When the robot sweeps the floor, the robot rotates the roller to push the garbage and dust near the suction port to the suction port, and the rotating roller makes contact with the guide element, since the rigid guide element does not deform, the guide element scrapes off the garbage and dust attached to the roller, and the guide element guides the airflow near the suction port to flow into the suction port, so that the garbage and dust also follow the airflow into the robot.

In the present invention, the two ends of the guide element are disposed at the two ends of the cleaning cover, so that the guide element spans across the two ends of the cleaning cover, and the guide element comprises a first side, a second side, and a guide face between the two ends. The first side is disposed on the side of the guide element facing the roller space, the second side is disposed on the opposite side of the first side, and the guide face is disposed between the first side and the second side, wherein the guide face is curved, the concave surface of the guide face concaves to the roller, and the second side is formed in an arc shape, the concave surface of the second side concaves to the suction port, and the curvature of the two ends of the second side is smaller than that of the middle of the second side.

In the present invention, the concave surface can be referred to a term of a mathematical concave function graph to represent curved surface and curvature directions of the guide face and the second side.

In the present invention, the cleaning cover is disposed with a cleaning opening in the middle to communicate with the roller space, and the guide element divides the cleaning opening into a roller area and a suction port area. The suction port area is smaller than the roller area and is closer to the suction port, and the opening area of the suction port area is also small, so that the suction port area will not be covered by the roller.

In the present invention, the cleaning cover is further disposed with a plurality of brackets near the suction port, and two ends of each bracket are disposed on two opposing sides of the cleaning cover; each bracket is connected to the second side and the guide face, so that each bracket crosses each other at the guide element and supports the guide element.

In the present invention, the cleaning portion is a pastry brush, scrubbing brush, rubber brush, sponge brush, or a combination of any two mentioned above.

In summary, the present invention has one or more of the following advantages:

1. The rigid guide element is used for scraping off the garbage and dust attached to the soft cleaning portion, so as to improve the cleaning effect. 2. The guide element is designed to be located at a predetermined distance from the suction port so as to send the garbage and dust into the robot by the airflow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an explosive view of a cleaning device and a robot of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of the cleaning device of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic view of a cleaning cover of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1, the present invention discloses a cleaning device comprising a movable box 100, a roller 200, and a cleaning cover 300, wherein the movable box 100 is disposed with a roller space 110 therein, the roller 200 is disposed in the roller space 110, and the cleaning cover 300 is disposed around the opening of the movable box 100 facing toward the roller space 110. The two ends of the roller 200 have connecting portions 210 respectively, and the two ends of the roller space 110 also have corresponding grooves 111 for mounting two connection portions 210, and the movable box 100 is disposed with an airflow port 120 on one side to enable the suction port 11 to suck the airflow from the outside through the airflow port 120, and the movable box 100 is disposed with a plurality of first fastening elements 130 around the roller space 110 and the outer edge of the movable box 100 is disposed with a plurality of engaging portions 140, and each engaging portion 140 corresponds to the bottom side 12 of the robot 10 and is used for engaging the movable box 100 with a cleaning tank 13 disposed at the bottom side 12 of the robot 10. When the robot 10 needs to be repaired or maintained, the engaging portions 140 can be separated from the bottom side 12 of the robot 10 to move the movable box 100 away from the cleaning tank 13.

In the present invention, the roller 200 further comprises a plurality of cleaning portions 220 disposed on the surface of the roller 200, and each cleaning portions 220 further comprises a rubber brush 221 and a pastry brush 222. One end of each cleaning portion 220 is close to one of the connecting portions 210 and extends to the other connecting portion 210 in a curve until the other end of the cleaning portion 220 is close to the other connecting portion 210, additionally, each cleaning portion 220 exhibits a curved shape of one or a combination of two or more of a V shape, a W shape, a spiral shape, and an arc shape on the surface of the roller 200. In the present invention, each cleaning portion 220 stands upright on the surface of the roller 200, when the roller 200 rolls to make the cleaning portions 220 face the surface to be cleaned, a portion of each cleaning portion 220 protrudes out of the roller space 110 to bring the cleaning portion 220 into contact with the surface to be cleaned, and to sweep the garbage and dust scattered on the cleaning surface toward the airflow port 120.

In the present invention, the cleaning cover 300 is disposed with a cleaning opening 320 on the side facing the surface to be cleaned, and a guide element 310 is disposed on the cleaning opening 320 near the airflow port 120, and the two ends of the guide element 310 are disposed at the two ends of the cleaning cover 300, so that the guide element 310 spans across the cleaning opening 320, furthermore, two brackets 340 are disposed between the two opposing sides of the cleaning cover 300, with the two ends of each bracket 340 being disposed on the two sides of the cleaning cover 300 respectively, so that each bracket 340 and the cleaning opening 320 of the guide element 330 are crossed to provide support force to the guide element 310, therefore, the guide element 310 is less likely to be deformed when continuously making contact with the cleaning portion 220.

Refer to FIG. 2, in the present invention, the cleaning cover 300 is further disposed with two symmetrical second fastening elements 330 at the two ends of the guide element 330, when the movable box 100 is engaged with the cleaning cover 300, the first fastening element 130 and the second fastening element 330 will engage and fix the cleaning cover 300 on the movable box 100, while the roller 200 is located between the movable box 100 and the cleaning cover 300; a roller motor 400 is further disposed on one side of the cleaning device, and the roller motor 400 is connected to the connecting portion 210 (see FIG. 1) to drive the roller 200 to rotate, so that each cleaning portion 220 periodically protrudes out of the roller space 110, and when the cleaning portion 220 protrudes out of the roller space 110 to face the surface to be cleaned, the cleaning portion 220 will be in contact with the bracket 340 and pass through. In the present invention, the rubber brush 221 is further divided into a plurality of segments, and the cutting point between each segment corresponds to the position of each bracket 340, so that when the rubber brush 221 passes through each bracket 340, each bracket 340 can pass through the cutting points without squeezing the rubber brush 221, thereby increasing the smoothness of rotation of the roller 200.

After the cleaning portion 220 makes contact with the surface to be cleaned, and the garbage and dust are attached to the cleaning portion 220, the rotating cleaning portion 220 will be in contact with the guide element 310 for the guide element 310 to remove the garbage and dust and to guide the airflow to bring the garbage and dust along in its direction.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in the present invention, the guide element 310 includes a first side 311 and a second side 312. When the cleaning cover 300 engages with the movable box 100, the first side 311 is located close to the airflow port 120, and the second side 312 is located on the opposite side of the first side 311, and a guide face 313 is further disposed between the first side 311 and the second side 312. In the present invention, the guide face 313 is curved, the second side 312 is formed in an arc shape, and a concave surface can be referred to a term of a mathematical concave function graph to represent curved surface and curvature directions of the guide face 313 and the second side, wherein the concave surface of the guide face 313 concaves to the roller 200, the concave surface of the second side 312 concaves to the airflow port 120, and the curvature of the two ends of the second side 312 is smaller than that of the middle of the second side 312.

When the cleaning portion 220 is in contact with the guide element 310, since the concave surface of the guide face 313 concaves to the roller 200, the second side 312 will first make contact with the cleaning portion 220, and the soft cleaning portions 220 are squeezed by the rigid guide element 310 to deform, causing the garbage or dust attached to the contact surface of the cleaning portion 220 to drop to the guide face 313. At the same time, since the concave surface of the second side 312 concaves to the airflow port 120, the airflow will guide the garbage and dust falling on the guide face 313 to move in the direction of the airflow port 120, thereby achieving the object of removing the garbage and dust.

In the present invention, the guide element 310 divides the cleaning opening 320 into a suction port area 321 and a roller area 322, wherein the suction port area 321 is smaller than that of the roller area 322, and the second fastening elements 330 at the two ends of the guide element 310 also occupies a part of the suction port area 321, making the suction port area 321 of the suction port area narrower, which forces the airflow to flow toward the suction port 11, therefore, the effect of the airflow to guide garbage and dust to the airflow port 120 is improved.

Please refer to FIG. 1 again, the present invention further provides a robot 10, wherein the bottom side of the robot 10 is disposed with a cleaning tank 13 and a drive element 14, the cleaning tank 13 is provided for installing the cleaning device, the driving element 14 drives the robot 10 to move, and the bottom 12 of the robot 10 is disposed with a side brush 15 between the cleaning tank 13 and the edge of the robot 10. When the robot 10 moves, the side brush 15 can push and gather the garbage and dust inwards, and the roller 200 brings the garbage and dust to the suction port 11.

In summary, before the roller of the robot brings the garbage and dust to the suction port, the roller will first make contact with the guide element, so that the garbage and dust attached to the soft cleaning portion can be scraped off and dropped by the rigid guide element. At the same time, the falling garbage and dust will be sent into the robot by the airflow and will not fall back to the ground. In addition, with the suction port area design of the guide element, the ability of the airflow to guide garbage and dust into the suction port is increased, thereby improving the effectiveness of the robot cleaning the floor.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 robot -   11 suction port -   12 bottom side -   13 cleaning tank -   14 drive element -   15 side brush -   100 movable box -   110 roller space -   111 groove -   120 airflow port -   130 first fastening element -   140 engaging portion -   200 roller -   210 connecting portion -   220 cleaning portion -   221 rubber brush -   222 pastry brush -   300 cleaning cover -   310 guide element -   311 first side -   312 second side -   313 guide face -   320 cleaning opening -   321 suction port area -   322 roller area -   330 second fastening element -   340 bracket -   400 roller motor 

1. A cleaning device disposed on a bottom side of a robot, comprising: a movable box installed around a suction port disposed on the bottom side of the robot, wherein a movable space is disposed in the movable box; a roller, wherein the roller is pivotally disposed in the roller space, and the surface of the roller is disposed with a plurality of cleaning portions, a part of each cleaning portion is in the roller space, and another part of each cleaning potion protrudes out of the roller space, and the roller rotates to sweep the foreign substances near the suction port to the suction port with each cleaning portion; a cleaning cover disposed around the opening of the movable box facing toward the roller space, wherein a cleaning opening is disposed in the middle of the cleaning cover to communicate with the roller space, and a guide element is disposed between the roller and the suction port; and when each cleaning portion of the roller is in contact with the guide element through the cleaning opening, the guide element removes the foreign substances attached to each cleaning portion and guides the airflow to the suction port to have the foreign substances sucked into the robot through the suction port.
 2. The cleaning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of the guide element is disposed at one end of the cleaning cover, and the other end of the guide element is disposed at the other end of the cleaning cover, and between the two ends of the guide element, the cleaning device comprises: a first side disposed on a side of the guide element facing toward the roller space; a second side disposed opposing to the first side; a guide face disposed between the first side and the second side; wherein the guide face is curved and a concave surface of the guide face concaves to the roller; and wherein the second side is formed in an arc shape, and a concave surface of the second side concaves to the suction port, a curvature of the two ends of the second side is smaller than that of the middle of the second side.
 3. The cleaning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the guide element divides the cleaning opening into a roller area and a suction port area, and the suction port area is closer to the suction port than the roller area; and the area of the suction port area is smaller than that of the roller area, so that the airflow of the suction port area is guided to the suction port.
 4. The cleaning device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cleaning cover is further disposed with a plurality of brackets, and one end of each bracket is disposed on the side of the cleaning cover near the suction port and extends toward the roller, so that the other side of each bracket is disposed on the side of the cleaning cover near the roller; and each bracket is connected to the second side and the middle of the guide face, so that each bracket crosses each other at the guide element and supports the guide element.
 5. The cleaning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each cleaning portion is a pastry brush, scrubbing brush, rubber brush, sponge brush, or a combination of any two mentioned above.
 6. The cleaning device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide element is made of a rigid material and deforms each cleaning portion when making contact with each cleaning portion, so as to remove the foreign matter attached to each cleaning portion.
 7. A robot including the cleaning device as claimed in claim
 1. 